Euphemisms such as “his nerves are bad” have been used for decades in Spain, where mental health was a taboo topic, which was not talked about, or if it was, it was in whispers. Little by little, in recent years, especially as a result of the pandemic, it seems that this veil, sometimes tinged with shame, is falling, and mental health takes up time in the social conversation. Companies have also begun to take it into account, although, judging by the data, there is still a long way to go.
According to the report Impact of health and its deterioration in organizations, prepared by the consulting firm Mercer, only 24% of companies globally “currently have effective initiatives to create a psychologically safe workplace and address the causes of distress.” mental health related to work. In our country, the data does not differ much, says Patricia López, director of the health and well-being area of the consulting firm in Spain. “The percentage is, evidently, negative in absolute value. There are few companies that are working efficiently, with a structure based on strategy and information. But there is also good news: there is a long way to go, a great area for improvement. When a company sets out to do this, good results are seen in a short time.”
One of the companies that offers its employees a psychological support service is Solunion. The insurer began to do so during the pandemic, partnering with a Madrid office to do so. “It started as something small,” but little by little it grew to also reach workers outside the capital, so they switched “to an online accompaniment provider,” which is the one they currently have, says Guadalupe Domínguez. , corporate people manager at Solunion. Since then, 12% of the approximately 630 employees have used the service.
Although they do not have specific data on satisfaction with psychological support, Domínguez affirms that, after speaking with people who have used it, employees consider it valuable and attach great importance to the company “being concerned about the emotional well-being” of the workers. Even among those who have not resorted to it, just the fact of knowing that they have it within their reach increases “the indicators of well-being, inclusion, satisfaction and commitment to the company.”
The psychological consultation service available by telephone 24 hours a day at Triodos Bank, where it began to be offered in April, has also been very well received. In this case, it also extends to family members, since, says David Sáenz, head of health, safety and environment at the entity, “many times the problems do not come from work, but from the personal life of the employees.” ”. “It is being highly valued by the members of the organization because it is like having a cushion,” he adds, before saying that medical insurance coverage has also been expanded to include 20 face-to-face sessions with a psychology professional, both for hired person as well as for their family members. In this regard, the Mercer report states that “although 85% of European insurers say they cover psychological or psychiatric counseling sessions, in practice, 56% of them only cover 10 appointments or less.”
Sáenz also emphasizes the importance of offering employees tools so that they can train themselves in terms of mental health and thus be able to know how to detect if, for example, they have symptoms of stress, are victims of workplace moobing or what to do. if they suffer or witness harassment situations. In his opinion, this helps raise awareness about the importance of mental health.
Pluxee asked about resources to manage work stress in its II Study of challenges and trends in human resources 2024. 80% of the employees surveyed responded that they would like to have some in their company, being work flexibility policies and advice and support. psychologically the two most desired. The survey also asked companies about the measures related to well-being and mental health that they had or planned to implement. 40% claimed to have awareness and training programs to promote self-care and how to seek support, compared to 51% who had not even considered it.
Training on mental health is essential especially in the case of managers, says Patricia López. “They tend to be generations that come from different corporate cultures, in which there were a series of biases about how to deal with these issues and how to make them transparent. Team leaders must be trained so that they are able to identify situations, manage them and refer them. “Let work be done from preventive to action.”
Although there is more and more talk in society about mental health, it seems that it is still difficult to do so in the work environment, if we take into account that “76% of professionals would feel uncomfortable discussing this topic at work,” according to Ana Viñas. , head of human resources at Robert Walters for southern Europe, citing reports prepared by the consulting firm. “Culturally, in general, we need to continue moving forward in this aspect. In the work environment, specifically, there is still a lot of insecurity when it comes to expressing that someone is going through a bad psychological or emotional moment, because that can make the company, or its manager in particular, think that they are less capable of handling carry out its function.”
The Mercer report states “that it is time for occupational risk prevention to consider mental health at the same level as physical health and safety.” All the experts consulted agree that the situation has been improving in recent years, thanks in part to the incorporation into the labor market of new generations who, in the words of Viñas, “speak very openly about these issues.” “They are going to be the ones who force the world of work and business to take much more into account and reinforce support programs,” he adds.
David Sáenz, for his part, points out that, although “the debate that has taken place in society has made many companies open their eyes, there is still much to do. Especially in small companies. And there are also sectors, which we call white collar, in which it will be easier than in blue collar sectors, which perhaps have other concerns ahead of them, such as ensuring that the worker does not get injured.”